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I'm currently designing a web site using frames. I don't enjoy it, but that's what the designer and owner of the site wanted, so that's what they get. The site is at http://www.kort.no

The problem is that I dan't get the frames to the exact same size in Explorer and Netscape. It currently looks like it's supposed to in Explorer. However in Netscape, the left row (the meny row) is too narrow, which results in the logo not flushing with the meny below.

I thought that if I didn't use percent values for the frames, they would appear the same in both browsers. However, as it turns out, that's wrong.

Is there any way to assign the width and height to a frame that is the same in Noth Netscape and IE?

At a guess, Eric, it may have something to do with using JavaScript to write the entire FRAMESET code. I see why you did it; and this will indeed work in IE -- however, NS will sometimes have irregular results with this if any other scripting throws an error... as does you left menu script, which is reporting "menuLoc has no properties".

Actually etLux, the fault lies solely with Netscape. It has to do with way that it handles framesets.

When Netscape is given a frameset in percentages, it handles it in percentages. However, when Netscape is given a frameset in pixel value, it first converts that value to percentages, then uses that new value.

True enough, that's more or less how their blasted interpreter works. But creole, this was too far off to account for it that way, I think -- have a look at it; see what you think. I'm pretty sure this is something to do with Netscape's recalcitrance about processing JavaScript references against as-yet-unparsed conformal elements... and the error in one of the scripts in the container may likewise be boloxing the works.

I've done far tighter dimensioning in NS than this in framesets, and been able to hold them in trim better. If it were me, as a diagnostic, I think I'd pull the JavaScripted frameset materials, and try it in straight HTML -- see if that changes anything.

Thanks for replying. However, I am still a little confused. Why would it help to try and re-write the page without JavaScript? How can JavaScript affect the pixel width (or height for that matter) of a frame?

I know I'm being a nag here, but I'm just not too keen on re-writing the whole thing unless I'm pretty sure that iw will solve something.

Eirik, Netscape can be very flaky about how it interprets layouts when any dynamic or even semi-dynamic element is involved. Although this isn't really a dynamic situation, it's kind of a case where Netscape may not know "who's on first"...

Trying the page as a standard HTML would help clarify if there is any problem related to this. Creole usually has some good insights on this sort of thing; I hope we hear more back from him on this.

Eirik...the main reason why etLux's suggestion is good is because we dont know what is causing the page to break. So, we take it apart piece by piece until it doesn't break. You should not have to recode it unless it is indeed the Javascript that causes the problem.

By the way, the page breaks in IE 5 for the Mac too and it has one of the best rendering engines around.

Strangely, when I look at the page in both Netscape and IE for the PC, it looks almost identical. Have you already made changes Eirik?

At the very least, I would recommend trying the frameset static.

By the way, that is tricky bit of coding to get the menu to overlap the frame like it does. Nice job.

Yeah, that's what I meant, Creole -- take it apart piece by piece to find which chunk is cracking.

One layout alternative that will immediately solve this, either way, is to bring the left columnar frame straight to the top of the page, and split the main frame to create the header space -- or split the top frame into two (frame) parts, and make the leftmost part the same width as the left vertical menu frame.